Ceviche live station

From 7 to 13 September, collaborating with guest chef, Natalia Sophia González Echeverría, Triple Three at Mandarin Orchard dishes authentic mouth-watering Peruvian classics on top of its usual spread.  Chef Natty formerly worked at Peru’s Government Palace where she served heads of state, ministers, foreign dignitaries, and members of royalty with piquant and tantalizing Peruvian fare.

Due to its long multicultural history, Peruvian cuisine is an epitome of fusion food with diverse influences from the natives and immigrants from Europe, Asia (notably Chinese and Japanese) and West Africa. For this reason, you may find familiar elements as you indulge in Triple Three’s Peruvian fare, such as ceviche that resembles Japanese sashimi, Peruvian chicken rice, slow-cooked pork ribs with Yakiniku sauce, etc.

Start off your feast with a glass Pisco sour, a refreshing classic Peruvian cocktail, to wake up your palate and whisk your way to the ceviche live station. In Peru, ceviche is a national heritage appetiser typically made of fresh raw fish cured in citrus juices, such as lemon or lime, and spiced with seasonings.

Triple Three offers a spread of five ceviches, each unique in its own way and well balanced. The Japanese-influenced Ceviche Nikkei stands out from the tangy ones with its sweet and savoury taste from Chef’s Natty special sauce. While the ceviche de champiñones (vegetarian) is surprisingly refreshing, we prefer our ceviche to be marinated in more robust and citrusy tiger’s milk like one in Tono Cevicheria.

Next station, we headed for the classic Peruvian chowder, Chupe de Camarones, which uses fresh shrimp in aromatic stock thickened with vegetable chunks, tomatoes, and poached eggs, and then spiked with red hot chilli peppers. It is rich and the texture reminds me a little of thick, less-spicy tom yam soup, and mui fan. However, we think that the taste is monotonous and a tad salty. Worth trying a smidgeon for cultural exposure.

The feast continues with some of Peru’s best-loved dishes such as the Lomo Saltado (pictured above),a Lima-style stir-fry combining marinated strips of sirloin with onion, tomatoes, and fries. The rich broth goes well with the fries, although the beef is slight dry and overcooked.

The Peruvian chicken rice resembles the texture of paella with a hint of Peruvian chillis; while the Aji de Gallina (above) is a classic chicken stew made with a spicy sauce flavoured with cheese, garlic, nuts, and Peruvian chilli peppers. It is tasty, pungent, and creamy (jerlat alert) loaded with Peruvian chillis.

Cantonese roast

Our favourite of the Peruvian fare is Pachamanca Pork Ribs—a Nikkei-inspired slow-cooked pork ribs with Yakiniku sauce and roasted peanuts. It is tender, juicy and sweet with a kick of pepper spiciness at the end. Coupled with the roasted peanuts, it adds pleasurable crunchiness to the tender pork ribs. Satisfaction guaranteed, whack it!

To end the Peruvian journey, satisfy your sweet cravings by tucking into the Arroz con Leche—a classic Peruvian homely dessert made with rice, sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk. It resembles the chewy texture of “pulut hitam”, sweeter but balanced by raisin and coconut flakes. However, the Mango Suspiro limeño, a traditional Lima mango dessert, is lacklustre with its mushy texture and too sweet. There are options of other Peruvian desserts to satisfy our sweet tooth but overall they are sweeter than you may think of them.

Not forgetting the usual diverse spread, the buffet has other outstanding items such as creole seafood stew (pictured above), soup mee sua and seared mentaiko lobster (pictured below) which we absolutely adore.

The pricing is on the high side and comparing the variety of dishes, perhaps Edge has an edge. But if you would like to experience the wide array of classic Peruvian cooking without the hassle of traveling to the other side of the globe, this is the right place for you.

Triple Three Buffet Price 
Sunday-Wednesday: $88++ per adult; $33++ per child (6–12 yrs)
Thursday-Saturday: $108++ per adult; $48++ per child (6–12 yrs)

Triple Three
Mandarin Orchard Singapore, Level 5, 333 Orchard Road, Singapore 238867
tel: +65 6831 6288 / +65 6831 6271
M – Sat 12pm – 2.30pm, Sun 12pm – 3pm; Dinner daily 6.30pm – 10pm

Food: 7/10
Price/value: 6.5/10
Decor/ambience: 6.5/10

You may be interested in…
–Alley on 25, Andaz: $35 Lazy Breakfast Semi-Buffet on Weekends
–Food Capital @ Grand Copthorne WaterFront Hotel: Fresh Durian by the River for Heritage Festival Buffet
–Ginger at Parkroyal Hotel, Beach Road: The Wonders of Pincers
–Window on the Park, Holiday Inn Orchard: Boston Lobster Buffet Weekend

Written by William Leong. He was raised with the notion that food wastage is abominable. Please don’t be alarmed if you see him gorging until plates are sparkling clean; it is just his reflex action.